“It appears, Miss Norval, that we had a better understanding of that kind of business, don’t you think?” asked the chairman, looking around with a smile to see approval on the reporters’ faces.
“That is correct, Mr. Senator, we do have a better understanding of this kind of business. Consider the way in which our government gained possession of the canal zone through relatively dirty political maneuvers with regards to Colombia. This whole affair is not a very honorable or praiseworthy history on our part. We should be ashamed of ourselves, since we always talk about the rights of self-determination of other countries, except when such rights seem to infringe upon our own economic and political interests.”
The committee chair forcefully banged his gavel. In a threatening tone, he warned: “Miss Norval, it is my duty to inform you that we are not here to listen to your judgments on the acquisition of the Panama Canal, but rather to examine the APTC’s financial security.”
“With all due respect, I was not the one who brought up the Panama Canal and a possible repeat of a similar financial scandal, which my company might be planning, according to the most revered committee. As you just said, Mr. Senator, it is indeed the task of this highly respectable committee to examine the health of our company’s finances. Since you brought up the Panama Scandal, I was prompted to explain to the honorable gentlemen of the Senate the great extent to which the origins of the Panama Scandal differ from the circumstances in which our company wishes to build a canal.”
“All right, Miss Norval, I am inclined to admit that the situation in your case is fundamentally different. To have somewhat of a comparison by which we can abide, let’s focus on the actual Panama Canal, as it exists and functions today, and not its historical background. Can you tell us the length of the Panama Canal, Miss Norval?”
“From open water to open water a little less than fifty-one statute or overland miles, which means a little more than forty-four international nautical miles.”
“And how long did the construction of a canal spanning little more than forty-four nautical miles take, Miss Norval?”
“Ten years, sir.”
“Ten years? So, we are talking about four and a half nautical miles per year?”
“Approximately, Mr. Chairman. I do have to note however, that the difficulties that presented for the construction of the Panama Canal do not exist for us. Panama was one of the unhealthiest regions on earth. Workers, technicians, and engineers died in droves due to malaria and other tropical diseases. Today, the technical advances, the machines and explosives, would allow us to build fifty miles of canal per year with enough workers and excellent organization. We could possibly do it in even less time.”
“However, you have to admit, Miss Norval, that the Panama Canal might still not exist today if our government had not come to the rescue.”
“No, I won’t admit that, Mr. Senator. A private business would have bought the permit and completed the canal. Our government would not have hindered a private company.”
“Miss Norval, if a private company experienced such a far-reaching financial collapse while building the Panama Canal of only forty-four nautical miles in length, then how many financial crises do you think would result from building a canal of—how many nautical miles did Mr. Beckford say yesterday, clerk?”
The clerk turned the pages of the court record. “Two thousand two hundred thirty-four nautical miles, Mr. Senator.”
“Actually, Mr. Senator, the canal we plan to build will only be a little more than about half of that number, about one thousand two hundred thirty-seven nautical miles.”
The senators looked at one another incredulously.
Aslan waved to her assistants and immediately three large maps went up. Aslan stepped to the side to allow the committee a clear view of the maps. As she continued to speak, three of the assistants corroborated Aslan’s speech with long pointer sticks.
“Here is New York and here is San Francisco, with a distance in between of two thousand two hundred forty-three nautical miles, as Mr. Beckford indicated correctly yesterday.”
“But that is the canal route we have been talking about for two days,” interrupted Senator Shearer.
“The honorable gentlemen of the Senate and Mr. Beckford have indeed been discussing this route, but I have not.”
“When we first came up with the idea of a transnational canal, it’s true we imagined a direct route connecting New York and San Francisco. To my surprise, it seems that Mr. Beckford is still stuck on that original idea. Mr. Beckford is merely the general manager of our company. He has no knowledge of our technical plans. Therefore, he could not know about the new blueprints the board had approved by engineers and geographers just a few days ago. This is the project that the company plans to execute.”
The senators let Aslan speak without interrupting her.
“I now have the great honor of standing in front of this committee, which has been charged with determining whether our company’s plan is feasible or whether we knowingly sold shares in a worthless company. I am standing here accused of having knowingly founded a company that I knew would fail. But the project is feasible. The fact that our shareholders are not selling is proof that they believe it as much as we do.”
Aslan waved at her assistant, and the long pointer traced a line straight across from New York to San Francisco.
“What you see here, gentlemen, is the route Mr. Beckford indicated. However, the canal we plan and the one our engineers will build is only about half as long and will probably cost one-tenth of what this direct canal would cost.”
“Did we hear that correctly, Miss Norval?” Senator Drake interrupted her. “Your canal would cost less than a tenth of what the direct canal would cost?”
“Maybe even just a twelfth. And that is because our canal does not start in New York, but here.”
At her behest, the pointer flew from New York to Galveston, Texas.
“Our canal begins here in Galveston and ends at the Pacific Coast, somewhere between Los Angeles and San Diego, wherever it is most advantageous.”
On the map, the pointer raced across Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California, and stopped north of San Diego.
“In this area between San Diego and Los Angeles, we will have the canal end in a bay that will give ships the most protection for anchoring before they continue into the Pacific Ocean.”
“Well, Miss Norval, that certainly moves the execution of your plan into the realm of possibility,” remarked Senator Shearer, as he continued doodling naked girls with large breasts on the paper in front of him.
“While the distance from New York to San Francisco”—the pointer mapped the distance—“as we have repeatedly explained to the honorable gentlemen, is two thousand two hundred thirty-four nautical miles, the distance from Galveston to the Pacific Coast is only about one thousand two hundred thirty-seven nautical miles. And, just as an aside, gentlemen, from Galveston, near Houston, a canal in the direction of the Pacific Coast has already been in existence since 1914, the Houston Canal.”
New maps appeared before their very eyes. The maps were large and the letters and numbers printed in bold so that the newspaper reporters and the few members of the audience in the chambers could read them without having to stand up. The committee had never seen such a well-led and cleverly organized performance. Every new map or table appeared as if by magic and seamlessly corroborated Aslan’s speech.
It had been Beckford’s idea to use the displays. It was a great idea, which she would never have thought possible, since she did not deem him very intelligent at all. Whenever Aslan turned around during her speech to see the assistants with their maps, she felt gratitude for Beckford’s input. She had never spoken in public before except during her studies, when she had sometimes given a speech in front of an invited audience or recited Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address during school ceremonies. The help and support she received from the maps and tables gave her an unexpected feeling of superiority. However, the greatest sense of confidence came from the knowledge that she was fighting for a project that she deemed good, feasible, and most beneficial for the general public.